Kalon Barnes (born December 16, 1998) is an American football cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footballatBaylor.
| No. 31 – Pittsburgh Steelers | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1998-12-16) December 16, 1998 (age 25) Silsbee, Texas, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 186 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Silsbee (Silsbee, TX) |
| College: | Baylor (2018–2021) |
| NFL draft: | 2022 / Round: 7 / Pick: 242 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Player stats at PFR | |
Barnes played wide receiveratSilsbee High School. Barnes was a three-star recruit coming out of high school and committed to play football at Baylor on May 4, 2017.[1][2]
Also competing in track and field, Barnes won both the 100 metres and 200 metres at the UIL Track and Field Championships in 2017 and 2018, consecutively.[3] He ran a wind-assisted (+3.2 m/s) 10.04 seconds in the 100 metres in 2018.[3]
Barnes converted from wide receivertocornerback before the 2018 season.[4]
Barnes ran a 4.23-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, the third-fastest time at the combine since electronic timing was implemented in 1999 (behind only Xavier Worthy's and John Ross' 40-yard dash times, 4.21 seconds and 4.22 seconds respectively), and the fastest time by a defensive back.[5][6]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+1⁄2 in (1.82 m) |
183 lb (83 kg) |
31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) |
9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) |
4.23 s | 1.49 s | 2.50 s | 4.58 s | 7.44 s | 40.0 in (1.02 m) |
11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) |
6 reps | |
| Sources:[5][7] | ||||||||||||
Barnes was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round (242nd overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft.[8] He was waived on August 30, 2022.[9]
On September 1, 2022, Barnes was signed to the practice squad of the Miami Dolphins.[10]
On December 14, 2022, Barnes was signed by the Minnesota Vikings from the Dolphins practice squad.[11] He was waived on August 28, 2023[12]
On September 15, 2023, Barnes was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad.[13] On September 26, 2023, Barnes was released from the Steelers practice squad.[14]
On October 3, 2023, Barnes was signed to the New York Jets practice squad.[15] He was released on December 22.[16]
On January 10, 2024, Barnes was signed to the Cleveland Browns' practice squad.[17] He was not signed to a reserve/future contract by the team after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract.[18]
On January 23, 2024, Barnes signed a reserve/futures contract with the Steelers.[19]